Long Way From Innocence (Revision in Progress)
by Lily of the Shadow
Summary: Kenshin's past is plaguing him once again, but this time his demons come from before the Bakumatsu, from before Hiko's lessons: from the very day that took his parents away... (No longer discontinued! Chapter 1 revised, Chapters 2-4 pending)
1. Chapter 1

Good morning, everyone. You are currently reading the newly-updated Chapter 1 of my story, Long Way From Innocence. After many years of hiatus I've decided to finally give this a good polishing, and finish it up.

**Editing Note:** As I was editing, I realized that this story was so old that I was still finishing spoken dialog with periods instead of commas inside quotes- i.e.,_ "Okay." She said._ Yikes! Furthermore, there are instances of Japanese where the English translation would suffice. I'll be keeping the use of 'sessha', since it's an awkward concept to translate, but I think I will revert everything else I can to translation.

**Chapter 1 has been edited, but chapters 2-4 are awaiting revision. Chapter 5 should be up before November 2012!**

To all of my returning readers, I thank you for your patience. To new readers, I hope you enjoy!

* * *

_The scent of death hung heavily in the air._

_The small town was rank with the stench of the dead and dying. Out in the narrow roads, carts rattled by, carrying the bodies of those who had succumbed to the sickness. The town criers went from house to house, announcing the Death Cart's arrival._

_A small boy sat in the corner of his house. On the futon in front of him, a man and a woman lay. The man was long cold, and the woman seemed as if she would follow him shortly; her breathing was ragged and deeply labored._

_"Bring out your dead!" A town crier called in the street-facing window. He paused. "Damn, another kid. Toshi!" He turned around and called to the strong man dragging one of the carts. "Toshi, it's another of those damned orphans!"_

_Moments later, the boy jumped as the door was kicked in. A burly man with masses of scarred muscles picked up the man and the woman by the arms and dragged then out the door._

_"MAMA! PAPA!" The boy seemed to break out of his daze, suddenly screaming. "MAMA! PAPA! DON'T GO!" He beat on the arms of the other man who carried him out by the back of his shirt. He hardly weighed anything._

_"Got another one for ya, Mizuko," he muttered gruffly as the boy was tossed into another cart which was already filled with ragged children, all of them orphans of the epidemic; all of them to be sold into slavery._

_"Aye. This cart's about full, Mu. Give the rest to Kazeko."_

_"Where is your brother anyway?" Mu asked Mizuko. He shrugged._

_"Knowing him, collecting all the teenage girls he can manage," he sneered, "in whatever condition he can find them."_

_"Your brother is a sick bastard," Mu shook his head. Mizuko shrugged again, losing interest in the conversation._

_"I didn't raise him," he said, snapping the whip at the horse in front of them. Slowly, the cart rolled down the street._

_"MAMA!"_

_"LET MY MOTHER GO, YOU BASTARDS!"_

_"FATHER! DON'T LEAVE ME!"_

_Children's cries rang out as they passed the other carts that lined the streets and recognized their parents, neighbors, and friends._

_"PAPA! LEAVE MY PAPA ALONE! HE'S NOT DEAD!"_

_"LET GO OF IRUKA-SAMA! LET HIM **GO**!"_

_The cold-hearted Mizuko ignored their screams as he pulled them on towards the mansion in the next town, where they'd be cleaned up and set to work._

_"**MAMA**!"_

"Kenshin! Kenshin, are you alright?"

Kaoru heard Kenshin's fretful whimpering all the way down the hall; it had woken her from a very deep sleep, it was so loud. Yahiko poked his sleepy head into the room as well.

Kenshin sat against the wall as he was wont to do, with his sword against his shoulder. His eyes were wide, however, and his breathing was not deep and even.

"_Kenshin_!" Kaoru shook his shoulder. His head shot up and wide violet eyes searched the room frantically before his eyes fell on Kaoru's face.

"Miss Kaoru?" He asked softly.

"Kenshin, are you alright? You were crying in your sleep," Kaoru murmured, gently reaching to wipe away one of the tears that had been pouring down his face. Kenshin leaned into her touch unconsciously.

"Sessha is fine," He murmured. "Sessha is fine. It was just a bad dream."

"You were just about screaming, Kenshin, that doesn't sound 'fine' to me," Yahiko protested sleepily.

"Sessha is sorry to have woken you, Yahiko. Please forgive Sessha."

Kaoru sighed, reigning in the frown she wanted to express for the sake of not disturbing Kenshin further. It was obvious that nothing more would be gotten out of him that morning.

"Well, the sun will be up soon, I imagine. I'm not going to try to go back to sleep," She said with an uncharacteristic gentleness. She stood up slowly. "I'll start breakfast."

"You'll start breakfast! Yuck!"

"What are you saying _yuck_ for!"

"You, ugly old hag, can't _cook_!"

"What do you _mean_, I can't cook!" _Smack!_ "And what do you mean _UGLY_?" _Smack, smack!_ "Five hundred strokes _before _breakfast!"

Kenshin listened as their argument traveled down the hall and to the dojo. He rested his forehead on his knee and took a few deep breaths.

For a moment, he was pulled back to the Maekawa Dojo, when he first became lost in the Bakumatsu again. Those memories had seldom visited since Shishio's defeat, but in its place were these.

Memories of his childhood, when he was no more than seven or eight; of the time when his parents died of cholera, and he was taken by slavers. There were happy memories, too, of course, but they faded in contrast to the stark, harsh poignancy of the memory of _that_ night, and the nightmare that followed it.

Reluctantly, Kenshin rolled to his knees. He remembered distinctly how he felt the morning before his encounter with Jin-e, the morning he woke up and left the dojo, then returned to find Sanosuke had been attacked… A wave of nausea passed over him. _Those days are GONE. All of this is suppose to be _settled_ by now,_ he thought vehemently.

After a moment, he stood. He stared at his neatly made futon across the room. After a long, hesitant moment, he approached it. He drew back the blanket on top. His sakabatou was set on the floor within reach.

Slowly he slipped between the blankets. He laid his head back and closed his eyes, willing himself to relax.

He hadn't slept on a futon, actually _slept_, that is, since he left Hiko Seijuro's lair in the mountains when he was 15. He took a deep breath. The faint scent of charring food reached his nose, but he found himself unwilling to get up and go assist Kaoru. The futon's warmth was comfortable, inviting. It was a luxury he had not allowed himself in a very, very long time.

"Kensh—" Kaoru cut herself off as she saw the figure, laying under the blankets on the futon. He was on his side, half curled over. His eyes were peacefully shut, his face, for once, untroubled. Kaoru's eyes softened. She smiled gently, sliding the shoji back shut with a faint click.

* * *

Your thoughts are greatly appreciated! If you've already left a review on this chapter, you're welcome to re-review while logged out-I do accept unsigned reviews. Not much has changed in this chapter, I don't think, mostly grammar, usage, and punctuation edits. New readers are encouraged to post your thoughts on each chapter, before reading the next :)


	2. Chapter 2

Forgive minor mistakes, please! It's been a while since I've written anything, much less any RK. If you've ever read Chili Soup, please know that I've improved MUCH since then, but I'm still not perfect!

Ideas, by the way, are appreciated! I've got an idea for the general direction of the story, but nothing for the end! I am using Saito-sama's alias merely for consistancy, since that is the first name is is referred to by in this chapter. This may change in the future. If it's overly annoying, let me know, I've got an entire summer to sit and appease nit-picky reviewers. (mostly)

* * *

"Officer Fujita." A woman addressed the former Shinsengumi sharply. Her face was aged, but there was a youthful aura about her. She wore a dark kimono with a neutral obi and short sleeves, but her face was not sad; not at first glance, at least.

"Can I help you, miss?"

"Perhaps you can. I'm looking for someone, a young man," The woman said, her voice strong. She was not as demure as a traditional Japanese woman; Saito was reminded strongly of a certain swordswoman living in a dojo on the edge of town.

"I do not ordinarily handle missing persons."

"I understand that," she said, wrinkling her nose slightly in disgust as Fujita brought a cigarette to his lips and lit it expertly. "However, I have heard that you are excellent at finding people nonetheless."

"Is that so?" Fujita leaned back.

"Yes, sir. I need the best right now. My son went missing twenty-one years ago. I have reason to believe that he was sold into slavery."

Fujita sighed, leaning forward. There were several slave trade rings that still existed in Japan, despite the ban. Any information on whereabouts of illegal slaves or traders was helpful. H pulled a sheet of paper and a pen from a drawer. "What reasons do you have to believe this?"

"I lived in a village with my husband and son a bit more than twenty years ago. Inumuzi was a quiet village, but it was struck hard with cholera one year. My husband was dead early on, and I was very ill. When I awoke, I was laying on a futon in a cabin in the woods. A man named Niitsu Kaunoshin had nursed me back to health after discovering me struggling against a group of slavers who had also just discovered that I was alive. When I asked where my son was, he told me that all of the children in that village had been taken by another group of slavers almost three days before, and thatI had no chance of finding them." She took a deep breath, pushing back a few tears. "I was hoping that, in the Meiji Era, I could find my son…"

"You realize, miss, that he could very easily have been killed in the war?" Fujita asked, sitting back again, disappointed by the lack of helpful information.

"I know he wasn't. Shinta was a sweet boy; he would have _never_ joined the war effort. He'd have stayed as far away as humanly possible!" The woman said.

Fujita sighed. "Your name, Miss?"

"Himura Emiko."'

Fujita's head snapped up from the paper to meet her eyes. The woman seemed surprised and raised an eyebrow. "Repeat that?" he demanded.

"Himura Emiko." The woman said again, this time almost unsure.

"Himura?"

"Yes, sir." The woman said. Fujita's eyes dropped back to the paper.

"And your son's name?"

"Himura Shinta." Fujita's eyes closed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew the name. He knew the person. Finally he sat back.

"Tell me about this boy." Fujita said with a sigh. "What does he look like, what does he act like?"

"Well, Shinta is a quiet boy. He always was a pacifist, but very good with his hands. I always imagined that he would get a job working as an artisan, a crafter. Perhaps a painter? He never looked down on anyone, ever. His heart was so big, and he was always open." She said, her eyes misting. "He was a small boy, so I don't imagine he would grow to be very big, even at twenty-eight, thin framed, but quick as a flash. He had the most unusual red hair, though, and sweet, violet eyes."

Fujita was now convinced.

"Himura-san, I know where your son is," He said. Emiko's expression suddenly turned into one of shock. Her eyes were wide.

"You… you do? My baby… where is he?"

"Himura-san, please." He held up a hand to quiet her. Her shocked expression took on a hint of worry. "Himura-san, your son is not the boy you remember," Fujita said. "I'm afraid that if you are looking for a warm, open, loving young man, you will be disappointed. Himura has become closed and withdrawn. His heart is still too big; he tries to protect everyone with that infernal sword of his."

"Sword!" Emiko gasped. "Shinta-chan would never—you must be thinking of the wrong man…" she trailed off.

"Miss, tell me: how many 29 year old men in Japan have red hair and violet eyes?" Fujita asked intently, lacing his fingers and resting his chin on them.

The woman's expression turned to nervous acceptance. "Where… where is my son?" she asked softly.

"He is at the Kamiya Dojo, near the edge of town." Fujita stood, taking his coat from a peg on the wall behind him. "Come, I will give you a ride."

"I… appreciate it." The woman bowed. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet." Fujita muttered, striding out the door. Emiko followed, head held high despite her inner turmoil.

The carriage ride seemed short, and before they knew it, the pair was outside the gates of the Kamiya Dojo. Saito reached forward and pounded heavily three times. There was a shouting from behind the tall, plastered walls. Finally, the heavy wooden gate was slowly opened by a young boy with mussed hair.

"Oi! What are you doing here, Wolf!" He demanded, though he hesitated in reaching for his shinai at the sight of the woman next to him. "Who is she?"

"Your teacher obviously places no emphasis on courtesy," Fujita said, pushing the door open more. Kaoru emerged from the dojo, sweating from exertion. Kenshin followed, his eyes narrowed slightly at the tall form of the former Wolf of Mibu.

"What can we help you with, Saito-san?" he asked cordially, if a bit icily. Last time the man showed up unexpectedly there was a long, complicated plot that Kenshin almost lost himself unraveling. There was a pause as his heart sank into his stomach, he recalled the feeling he had gotten earlier that morning, the one that told him something was going to happen.

"Don't panic, Battosai, I'm not here for anything but to bring a family together." Saito finished with a mockingly heartfelt tone. Kenshin raised an eyebrow, his eyes settling on the woman ho stood next to Saito. The former hitokiri's eyes met the woman's.

Emiko stood, utterly shocked. Her heart pounded and he throat was dry. _There… Kami, my son is alive!_ Emiko emitted a tiny gasp as she took in his features: the somewhat hardened eyes, the scar on his face… the sword at his side. Without warning, she collapsed. Saito, expecting this, caught her before she fell to the ground.

"Well? Where can I set her, or should I drop her right here?" he asked at the shocked looks of everyone else. Kaoru jumped, but instructed him to a room. She opened the door to one of the unused guest rooms and quickly folded out the futon. Saito lay the woman down and allowed Kaoru to cover her up.

Kenshin and Yahiko followed. After a moment of silence, Kaoru spoke.

"Who is she?" she asked softly. Saito raised an eyebrow and looked at Kenshin, whose eyes were firmly fixed on the unconscious woman's face.

"Ask him." He said before sweeping out of the room, house and dojo. He snapped at the carriage driver to get back to the police station; he had paperwork to do.

Meanwhile, Kaoru and Yahiko stared at Kenshin, who hadn't so much as blinked in quite a while.

"Kenshin?" Kaoru asked softly. Startled, Kenshin looked at her, his eyes still distant. "Kenshin, who is this?"

"_Kami_…" Kenshin choked out as he dropped to his knees. Kaoru was floored, as was Yahiko, when a dark spot appeared on the floor between Kenshin's knees.

They watched in shock as the former Hitokiri began crying.


	3. Chapter 3

I am absolutely thrilled with the response I've gotten for this, keep the reviews coming!

I think this chapter is considerably shorter than the other two, and will be shorter than chapter 4(Yes, I do have it almost finished, it'll be up tomorrow or day after), but I had found a stopping place and I couldn't bring myself to add any more to it from there, so forgive me, please.

As always, forgive me my trespasses as I forgive other people who screw up thier fics as bad as I do mine. Suggestions are always welcome, as is CONSTRUCTIVE critisicm. Flames will be used on Kazeko, Mizuko and Toshi.

* * *

Emiko awoke to the scent of hot green tea drifting over her. She sluggishly opened her eyes, only to find a navy-blue pair staring back at her.

"Good morning," a gentle voice said cheerfully. "You slept through the night after you fainted yesterday." The rest of a face swam into view, and then formed a concerned frown. "How do you feel? Megumi said you just fainted from shock, but I think you still might be sick."

"I—" Emiko croaked out, unable to get past the word due to her sore throat. Kaoru didn't look surprised; she merely helped the woman sit up and gave her the mug of warm tea. The woman accepted it with a grateful smile and drank nearly the whole cup before she attempted to speak again.

"Thank you…" Emiko whispered. "I am sorry for the inconvenience."

"Hey, it's okay." Kaoru laughed it off slightly. "I'm getting used to completely random occurrences. They've happened almost constantly since Kenshin came to stay with us," a small frown flit across her face, but it was very quickly replaced with a smile.

"Is Kenshin the young boy?" Emiko asked, tilting her head to the side.

"No, the boy is Yahiko," Kaoru said, picking up the cool cloth that had dropped from Emiko's forehead when she sat up. "The red-head's name is Kenshin."

"Ken…shin?" Emiko asked. "But… he… Shinta…"

Kaoru dropped the cool cloth that she had just picked up. "Shinta?" she asked incredulously. "You know… Kenshin's childhood name?"

"Shinta changed his name?" Emiko asked, eyebrows knitting together, frowning. _"And to Kenshin?"_ she thought despairingly. Officer Fujita's words came back to her, taunting her. _"He's not the boy you remember,"_ he had said.

"Hiko changed his name for him, when he adopted him and started teaching him. That was when he was eight, I think," Kaoru said. "You must have known him a long, long time ago." Kaoru paused, realization coming to her face. Her expression fell, and she couldn't hide it. "If you didn't know about the change in his name… then you must not know much else, do you?" Kaoru said sadly.

"No… I don't. I've been looking for Shinta for twenty years." Emiko said, growing even more worried. "I… was sick, and he was taken and sold into slavery…"

Kaoru sat back on her heels, her eyes curious. "What is your name?" She asked. Emiko looked surprised at the question, _"Surely he's told them?"_ Noticing her confusion, Kaoru continued: "Kenshin never talks about his past, he finds it too painful to recall happier times before he… well…" she paused, unsure of what to reveal. _"If Kenshin knew this woman before, there is a good chance that he would not want her to know about his career as an assassin,_" she reasoned.

"Before he what?" Emiko demanded. She then pleaded with the teenaged kenjutsu instructor, "I… I don't know what happened after he was taken. Fujita-san brought me here, only warning me that my Shinta was different from what I remember…" she chocked back a few tears and blinked rapidly to clear the mist from her eyes. "Please, please tell me."

"I'm not sure that Kenshin would want an old friend of his to know…" Kaoru said nervously, looking to the doorway as if he was going to be standing there with a disappointed smile on his face.

"Miss," Emiko said, her voice now demanding though the tears, "I have a right to know what my son has been doing these past twenty years!"

Kaoru felt her breath leave as if she had been physically punched.

"S-son?" she gasped, eyes wide. Emiko noted her reaction. "But… his parents died… when he was seven…"

"I didn't. They took me before I was dead… And sold Shinta…" she choked. Kaoru poured her some more tea, which she drank gratefully. She set down the cup.

"Then…" recognition dawned of Kaoru's face. "Oh, no, that's why Kenshin…" she sighed. "Kenshin went to his room shortly after you arrived, and hasn't come out yet, not to eat, or anything. Yahiko peeked in and found him sitting in seiza with his sword in front of him, cursing softly at it." Kaoru sighed again.

"Oh, dear…" Emiko said, making to sit up.

"No—don't. I'll see if Kenshin will come here," Kaoru said, standing up herself. Emiko, however, refused the offer.

"Miss, I have wandered on foot all over Japan for almost nineteen. I can handle myself, thank you," Emiko said as she hoisted herself delicately to her feet. "I will see him."

Inwardly, Kaoru marveled at the older woman's strength. She finally nodded and led her to Kenshin's room.

"Here…" Kaoru said softly, stopping just short of the door. "This is Kenshin's room." She took a deep breath, and then knocked on the shoji's frame. "Kenshin?" she called softly.

"Come in," came the equally soft reply. Emiko reached for the door handle and pulled it.

The shoji was slid open slowly. Emiko stared for a moment at the hunched over figure of her aged son. He was taller, less fragile than he was when he was eight, but it was impossible to mistake the boy, and not only because of his brilliant hair.

"Shinta," She said softly, stepping in. Her tabi-clad feet barely made a sound. Kenshin, very slowly, turned his head, tilting it back to see the woman.

"Ohayo, Okaa-san. Did you sleep well?" He asked in a soft voice. He eyes were soft and sad, but still somehow happy at the same time. With a sob, Emiko flew at him. Slightly surprised, Kenshin twisted around and caught her. Emiko sobbed into Kenshin's gi, hugging him tightly. Kenshin held her, burying his face in his mother's hair.

Kaoru watched from the door, a look of melancholy happiness on her face. How would the older woman react when she found out her precious son's past? Her insides churned as she imagined the conversation…


	4. Chapter 4

I _haven't_ gotten chapter 5 written yet, as I had _hoped_, but I feel that you have waited long enough for this. There is a bit more history in here, as well as some names that you _may_ need to recognize later (along with a few ages and personal tidbits that are of negligable importance right now, but that will come into play later). If things go as planned, a lot more of Kenshin's past will come back to haunt him, including a few revelations about Hiko, Emiko,Kazeko, Muziko, andToshi. I actually am working off ofa plan with this story, which is rare for me. Bear with me, though: when I know what I'm doing, I try to take my time and do it _right_. As always, reviews are appreciated, along with criticism, questions, and speculation on my plot.

Please, enjoy!

* * *

There was silence. Tense, nervous silence. Kenshin sat on the porch, his mother on one side, Kaoru on his other Yahiko was _inconspicuously_ practicing his kata in the yard today. The younger boy kept stealing glances at the others. Finally, Emiko spoke.

"Please, Shinta, tell me—"

"Don't…" Kenshin interrupted, taking both of the women beside him by surprise. "Okaa-san, Shinta died… a long time ago. It is just Kenshin, now," he said sadly.

"Shinta! How can you say that?" Emiko gasped, laying her more delicate hand over Kenshin's larger, more calloused one. Kenshin seemed to be resisting the urge to pull away as if burned. _"Or rather,"_ Kaoru thought, _"As if afraid of burning her."_

"It's true, okaa-san," Kenshin insisted. "I am not Shinta. I am not…" he paused. He shook his head. "I am just Kenshin, a simple rurouni."

"But Shinta, how can you throw away the name I gave you?" Emiko half-demanded. "It's not done!"

"Hiko Seijuro gave me my name," Kenshin said gently, turning to his mother. He touched her cheek softly, as if afraid of breaking her. "He gave me my name, and taught me to fight."

"_Fight_!" Emiko burst out. "The very idea is ridiculous! My Shinta, my precious child, you _never_ fought! You were always the peacemaker; you never liked playing samurai with the other boys. You couldn't possibly—I don't see _how_…" Emiko finished tearfully, holding her son's hand tightly and peering up at him imploringly. "Tell me that you quit, tell me that you never finished your training and went on to kill! My Shinta couldn't…!"

Kenshin dropped his gaze to the ground. He released his mother's hand and stood up. His bangs covered his eyes, casting his expression into ambiguous shadow. Emiko stared as he turned to go inside. "Dinner shouldn't wait," he said softly. "This will be too long of a conversation to hold so soon before. Sess—_I_ will get started."

Kaoru's eyes widened. _"He hasn't had to correct himself that way in weeks!"_

Emiko only stared at his retreating back. She then turned imploringly to Kaoru.

"Miss Kaoru, please, please tell me what happened!" she begged. "It tears me up to see my Shinta like this!"

"Himura-san," Kaoru sighed, also looking at the ground, "It's not my story to tell. _Kenshin_," she emphasized the name subtly, "has only told me of his past a few weeks ago. I will tell you, though, that if you continue calling him Shinta, it will only make him feel guiltier," Kaoru said, standing as well.

"Guilty!" Emiko cried, alarmed. "Guilty over _what_!"

"It's not my place to tell," Kaoru insisted. She ignored Emiko's further protests as she approached Yahiko, intent on adjusting his stance and getting into another pointless argument in attempt to dismiss Kenshin's slipup and Emiko's fear-stricken face from her memory.

-

In the kitchen, Kenshin calmly diced some vegetables. At least, on the outside. Inside, he was cursing himself, cursing Saito Hajime for not warning him, cursing Hiko Seijuro for teaching him, and above all, cursing himself for not being able to stop the slavers from taking him and his mother, when he _knew_ his mother was alive.

He had always known his mother had been alive when she was taken, but he had assumed she would have died under the rough treatment of the Death Cart handlers, or that even if she was found to be alive, she would have been defiled and killed before she would be given the chance to get better…

And as for Kenshin, himself, he cursed himself for being so weak as to allow such harm to come the children of the village, his companions throughout the terrible year he had spent in Mizuko's _care_…

_--_

"_Wow, that is a lot of kids," Toshi said disgustedly. "Mizuko, are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, we have to feed all these brats enough to keep them alive, and we have to train them to be half-assed workers, plus most of them are still crying!"_

"_Of course I'm sure, you idiot. The kids are in high demand, get them to work as runners or something, they're quick and don't tire so easily. The slightly older ones, about 13 on up, can work doing chores, or as personal servants. The real tiny ones will have to be raised up a bit, but it'll be worth it to give them a perfectly broken-in slave, takes the work out of it for some of the busier samurai."_

"_But that also takes out half the fun," Kazeko said, smirking as he joined the ring around the campfire._

"_Which is why you're a trainer," Mizuko pointed out. The three men laughed, ignoring the children who were a ways outside the firelight, locked up in the cage-like cart they had been roughly thrown into._

"_Sakura-chan, are you alright?" Shinta whispered as he tore a strip of his hakama to tie around a wound on her arm. The girl named Sakura nodded. Her older brother, Jakotsu, nodded as well._

"_Damn them!" Jakotsu hissed. Shinta looked at him sharply, staring down the nine-year-old fiercely._

"_Don't talk like that in front of your sister," he reprimanded the older boy. Jakotsu laughed bitterly._

"_They took Iruka-sama, what do you expect me to say?" Jakotsu said. Next to him, two other boys, Katsuya and Touya, agreed with the more outspoken of the two. Kenshin could understand, however; Iruka-sensei had been well-respected in the village, he was the only kenjutsu instructor in the area._

"_Try to keep your language mild, at least," Shinta said softly, "the girls don't need to be hearing it," he indicated the five girls who were now huddled around Sakura. Sakura wasn't the oldest, though. She was only six. Yumi was the oldest, being nine years old, the same as Jakotsu. Kairi, 8, was next, followed then by Sakura. Sakura was very motherly, though, and often played with Toshiya and Anzu, both 4, and Yuki, who was 2._

_Generally, the girls stuck together. There were four other girls in the village, all of them older. Kairi's sister, Ankeo, was 16. She was supposed to be married this summer, to Yuki's oldest brother, Hiroshi. Toshiya's older sister and Anzu's older sister were best friends, Kagami (13) and Keiko (14). Sakura and Jakotsu's oldest sister, Mai, was 18 and already married to a boy from outside the village._

_Kenshin tried to peer through the darkness at the other cart, where seven more of the village children (and teens) would be, but he could neither see nor hear anything._

_At length, he settled down and curled up next to Yumi, like the two younger boys, Yoshi (4) and Yasuo (3) were doing. Finally, he fell into the last decent sleep he would get for a very long time…_


End file.
